Lo-fu

Lo-fu is the heroine of the short folk song "The Mulberries by the Path", which dates back to around the time of the Han Dynasty. Only a few dozen lines of this poem remain, but based solely on this, Lo-fu is still famous enough to be a figure of speech in China.

The poem details how the young, beautiful Lo-fu gathers leaves from the mulberry trees, dressed in pearls and silk. All the men who see her passing by drop their jaws in amazement.

Her fame spreads so far that one day the governor of the province stops by to look at her, and invites her for a ride in his chariot.

Lo-fu's response has made her famous for her cheek as well as her beauty. She responds by reminding the governor that he already has a wife, and she already has a husband. She then describes how her husband has been a scholar since the age of fifteen, and now at the age of forty is a mayor of a city, carrying a sword worth a million pieces of gold. While Lo-fu is describing her husband, the poem breaks off.

Based on these facts, it is believed that the part of the poem that comes down to us written down is probably part of an older song. This would explain, perhaps, various elements of the song, such as why a teenage wife of a millionare is out gathering mulberry leaves in her dress clothing, and why the governor that comes to seduce her is unaware that she already has a wealthy husband. Or perhaps, the rejoinder of the governor to Lo-fu's claim of such a wealthy heritage.

Be that as it may, Lo-fu is still proverbial for beauty, and she can still be found as a painting on wall calenders and the like based on this short poem.